The Youth Olympic Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format, though in reverse order with Winter Games held in leap years instead of Summer Games. The first summer version was held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010 while the first winter version was held in Innsbruck, Austria from 13 to 22 January 2012.[3]

Host cities are selected by the IOC membership, usually seven years in advance.[4] The selection process lasts approximately two years. In the first stage, any city in the world may submit an application to become a host city. After 10 months, the Executive Board of the IOC decides which applicant cities will become official candidates as based on the recommendation of a working group that reviews the applications. In a second stage, the candidate cities are investigated thoroughly by an Evaluation Commission, which then submits a final short list of cities to be considered for selection. The host city is then chosen by vote of the IOC session, a general meeting of IOC members.[5]

^Equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden. Stockholm had to bid for the equestrian competition separately; it received its own Olympic flame and had its own formal invitations and opening and closing ceremonies, just like the regular Summer Olympics.[19]

^The 1976 Winter Olympics were originally awarded to Denver, Colorado, United States in 1970, but in 1972, after a referendum, Denver voluntarily gave up its right, citing environmental concerns for the Colorado area. The IOC eventually decided to relocate those games to Innsbruck, Austria.

^Equestrian events were held in China's Hong KongSAR.[20] Although Hong Kong's separate NOC conducted the equestrian competition, it was an integral part of the Beijing Games (unlike the 1956 Stockholm equestrian competition it was not conducted under a separate Hong Kong bid, separate flame, etc.).[21]

^ abThe 2020 Summer Olympics were originally scheduled for 24 July to 9 August 2020, but were postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the event is still referred to as the 2020 Summer Olympics to preserve the 4-year Olympiad cycle.